OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek supports State Migration Service in marking World Day against Trafficking in Persons

Participants from the round table discussion launch blue balloons to mark the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, Bishkek, 28 July 2017. (OSCE/Altynai Nanaeva) Photo details

Opportunities, challenges and perspectives in combating and preventing human trafficking in Kyrgyzstan were the focus of a roundtable discussion organized by the Kyrgyz State Migration Service and supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek on 28 July 2017. The event was held ahead of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons on 30 July.

The discussion was organized under the framework of the OSCE-established Inter-agency Platform for Action and brought together representatives of state bodies, non-governmental organizations and international organizations.

“In Kyrgyzstan, trafficking in persons generally occurs as a result of large labour migration outflows, and very often our citizens are ill-informed about their labour rights and migration laws,” said Nurlan Sheripov, State Secretary of the State Migration Service. “According to experts, there are 750,000 migrants from Kyrgyzstan who work in Russia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and other countries. To combat human trafficking more effectively as well as to provide better assistance to the victims, we have recently elaborated guidelines on victim identification, followed by a package of amendments to the Law on Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons.”

Kakhramondzhon Sanginov, Acting Senior Human Dimension Officer at the OSCE Programme Office, said: “This initiative is mainly aimed at drawing the attention of the general public to the problem of human trafficking and its consequences, the victims of human trafficking, and the protection of their rights.”

The World Day against Trafficking in Persons is organized globally by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This year’s theme was ‘Act to protect and assist trafficked persons’.

The participants in the roundtable discussion agreed to contribute to UNODC’s ‘100 Days against Human Trafficking’ public information campaign, which kicked off locally in Osh on 31 July.

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